Method of assembling the parts of knitting-machine needles



Feb. 19 1924. 1,484,149 c. o. onus METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE PARTS OF KNITTING MAGHINE NEEDLES Filed March 15. 1921 METHOD 0 Assn Mme rh e'rs or KNITTING-Mealtime mmamsa Afipneation'fiieki' March 15, 192i. Serial'No".4r52,515'.

To all whom it may concern; i,

Be it known that I, GORYDON O. .Oiuvn, a citizen of the United States; residingat Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Methods of Assembling the Parts: of Knitting-- Machine Needles, of which the following is a specification. 1 V

This invention relates to an improved method of assembling knitting machine needles and likewise to an improvemehtin what is known as the screw rivet of suchza needle,; this beingthe part which pivotally connects the latch" of the needle with the shank. In preparing the needle shank for the receptionof such a" rivet alined holes are drilled through the walls of the latch slot in the needle shank and are tapped or. threaded. The screw rivet, which is, as stated above, the pivot for the latch comprises a shank of tool steel wire, cold drawn and annealed and threaded for a portion of its length, and up to'the present time it has been the custom" to" form' the rivet blunt at it's" threa'ded or entering end; In drilling and tapping the holes for the reception of this rivet" it almost invariably happens that" a" burr is formed about the ends: of the holes which open tl'irough the inner or opposing faces of the walls of the latch slot of the needle'shank. 7 These burrs, while" almost imperceptible offer a serious impediment in assembling the; needle parts for notwithstanding their minute nature they partly close the respective rivet holes or openings. The outer end of each rivet hole or opening is usually formed with a countersink and no great difii'culty isexperienced in uidin and fitting the blunt threaded end of the screw rivet into the ou'tei end of the first openingthroughwhich it is to be passed, but after the rivet has been threaded through this openin'g" itsblunt end meets'wi't'h the obstruction oflered by the burr at the inner end of the other or opposite opening and this end of the rivet is'prevented from squarely entering the said opening. As a result, as th'erivet continues tobe threaded through the first-mentioned opening, its blunt end will hear so forcibly against the opposite wall of the slot' as to spring or bulge this wall in an outward direction and even should the blunt end of the rivet enter the second opening, the needle is so distorted asto ,be unfit for'u'se'; and must e. discarde onsc apped-i AS 11}? 0 the ep of assemblage the needle has been practically eightyap rcent finished, the scrapping-of a large number gof needles, rendered necessary by. the vdifliculties" encountered as above re-,1 t m sacp icl r bl' ess n t. 9111; 9 time but also of m'aterial. The, presentinvention ,atherefore, has" as its 'primary objectflto devise a meanswherebythis difiiculty may be overcome andthe consequent- Wafste avoided, and as t it is the, presence, of the burr at the inner ends of the rivet openings, which is the prime cause of failure'in assembling and' producing a, perfect,nee'dle,;the invenftion contemplates the automatic, breaking down orreinovalf of thisl'burr at one step in the method of assembling the needle parts soi that thejthreaided; end ofthe screwrivet will as readily enter the second opening as the'first. 7 3; a, a

Another obj 6013:;Of, the invention,,g in order to; bring about the novel results mentioned above, is-tojprovid a; screw rivet of a novel form and which, as, it is threadedinto. place; will actas'i a reanier' tobreakdownuor remove. the burr. at thefiinner, end of the second lustrati'ng the form of, the rivet-openings in the needle? shank' and also illustrating the screw rivetembodying,theqinVentibn in position'. about 'toenter the first opening through whichiitflistopass; Fig; 3 is 'ansi -'l'ar viewillustrating-the threaded, portion'tof. the shank of the screw rivet threaded through both of the openings in, the: needle shank? and extending freely throughithefopening inf the latch;

Fig; 4 is a similar. View illustrating the next step in, the method in which the surplusal'ength is cut-ofl fromthe, rivet; 1 Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating-the next step in whichthe stockyremaining after thefstep" shownrinr Figure 45,: is riveted down; ..Fig. 6' is asimilarview:illustrating a sub?- sequent'h step in which theneedle is come pleted; I

Fig. 7 is a perspective view in detail of a screw rivet formed in accordance with the invention Fig. 8 is a view on a much enlarged scale illustrating the dificulty encountered in the ings 6 which are tapped or threaded and which at their outer ends are flared or enlarged to provide countersinks 7 If reference is now had to Figure 8, it will be observed, as somewhat exaggerated in said figure, that burrs are formed at the inner ends of the openings 6 during the tapping or threading operation, these burrs being'indicated by the reference letter B. Figure 8 also represents a screw rivet of the ordinary type indicated by the letter R and this rivet isv provided throughout a' portion of its length at one end with threads to match the threads of the openings 6, and at its threaded end is formed blunt. Inasmuch as the threaded end or extremity of the rivet R, although blunt, is of less diameter than the countersink 7 in the first one of the openings 6 through which the rivet is to be threaded, no difficulty will be experienced in guiding the end of the rivet into this first opening and as the rivet is rotated or threaded through the opening and its end passes beyond the inner end of the opening, the burr B, if any be present at this end of the said opening, will be pushed aside by the rivet. Thus far no difiiculty has been experienced in threading the rivet into place, but an obstacle is encountered when the rivet is further threaded through the first opening and its blunt end meets with the burr at the inner end of the other opening in the opposite wall of the slot for this burr offers an obstruction which the blunt end of the rivet cannot pass except it be by the application of considerable force, and as a result this wall of the slot is liable to be bulged outwardly as represented by the dotted lines in the said Figure 8, it being understood that up to this point the metal of which the needle shank is formed has not been tempered and is, therefore, relatively soft. As before stated, when a needle becomes distorted in this manner it is unfit for use and must be discarded or scrapped with the result that all time .and labor which has been expended in the formation of the needle up to this pointis a total loss as well as the material. I

The screw rivet embodying the present invention is most clearly shown in Figure 7 of the drawings and is indicated in general by the numeral 8 and the said rivet comprises a short length of tool steel wire, cold drawn and annealed and threaded for a portion of its length at one end in the usual manner, as indicated by the numeral 9, so as to adapt it to be fit through the openings 6 in the walls of the latch slot. terially from the ordinary rivet,-however, inasmuch as its threaded end is not formed blunt as is usually the case but is provided with a reaming point 10 formed preferably by cutting the extremity with opposite meeting bevels 11 which in the illustrated embodiment are two in number, although more This rivet differs mathan two bevels may be formed if it should I be found desirable. It is immaterial how these bevels are produced and it may be done by a peculiar method of cutting off the rivet ends or by filing or dressing the ends.

It will now be evident that when a rivet formed in the manner above described is assembled with the needle shank in the usual manner, the reaming point of the rivet will readily enter the first opening through which the rivet is to be received and if'a burr be present at the inner end of this opening, it is more, than likely that the burr will be cut away rather than merely pushed aside as is the case where a blunt end rivet is employed so that at this point an advantage is gained inasmuch as, if the burr is removed more or less completely, itcannot offer any interference to the free pivotal movement of the latch which is supported upon the rivet as might happen if it were merely pushed aside or toward the middle of the latch slot. As the screw rivet is further threaded into place, its end 10 will meet the burr atthe inner end of the second or other opening, if such burr be present, and due to the'peculiar formation of its end, it will act as a reamer to cut away the burr and more or less completelyremove the same before the extremity of the rivet actually reaches the inner end of the said second opening, and then, inas much as the burr has been removed, no obstruction is offered to the entrance of the said end of the rivet into the said second opening.

Having threaded the rivet through both openings in the manner and approximately to the extent shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, the surplus lengths which project beyond the outer faces of the shank of the needle are cut-off relatively close to the said faces and substantially as shown in Figure 4c. The next step in the method consists in heading or riveting down the ends of the rivet in the condition shown in Figure 4 and as illustrated in Figure 5 and-indicated by the numeral 12. In assembling the screw rivet with the needle shank, the latch 4 has, of course, been placed in position and engaged by the said rivet, and after the completion of the step illustrated in Figure 5 the needle is ready for the hardening or tempering step which is usually followed at this point, the necessary minor grinding operations having been previously performed. The final step in the method con sists in grinding down and polishing the side faces of the needle shank in which operation the riveted ends 12 of the screw rivet are brought flush with the said faces of the shank, as shown in Figure 6.

Havin thus described the invention, what is claime as new is:

1. The method of assembling the component parts of a knitting machine needle which comprises forming tapped openings in the Walls of the latch slot of such a needle, forming a threaded latch-pivot element with a reaming end, and fitting the said element through said openings and the latch, said end first, whereby to destroy any burr present at the openings.

2. The method of assembling the component parts of a knitting machine needle Which comprises forming tapped openings in the walls of the latch slot of such a needle, forming a threaded latch-pivot element with a reaming end, fitting the said element through said openings and the latch, said end first, whereby to destroy any burr present at the openings, removing the surplus length of said pivot element, and heading the ends thereof.

3. The method of assembling the component parts of a knitting machine needle which comprises forming tapped openings in the Walls of thelatch slot of such a needle, forming a threaded latch-pivot element with a reaming end, fitting the said element through said openings and the latch, said end first, whereby to destroy any burr present at the openings, removing the surplus length of said pivot element, heading the ends thereof, and removing the said headed ends flush with the surfaces of the needle.

4. The method of assembling the component parts of a knitting machine needle which comprises forming tapped openings in the walls of the latch slot of such a needle and providing said openings with countersinks at their relatively remote ends, forming a threaded latch-p-ivot element with a reaming end, fitting the said element through said openings and the latch, said end first, whereby to destroy any burr present at the ends of the openings, cutting off the surplus projecting lengths of the said element, and heading the ends of the element in the countersin'ks.

In testimon whereof I atfix my signature;

C'O YDON O. ORNE. [n.s] 

